A dragon and an elephant walk into a room

Who won the cover poll? Find out as they square off this week! Details inside.

Aug 28, 2023

A dragon and a magical elephant walk into a room and demanded to appear on the cover together.

Did you have that on your book cover bingo card? Because I didn't. But that's what 68% of voters chose. Here’s the proof:

I really thought the dragon would win. I guess she did since you voted for her and an elephant. But that leaves us with a problem. How do you put a dragon and a magical elephant on a cover? Won't the dragon squish the elephant?

I guess we'll find out as soon as I tell the our Scribe. And No, I haven't done that yet.

(This is Ran, Sarn’s son, and sidekick in the Curse Breaker series, and your narrator for this newsletter.

My Scribe is Melinda Kucsera, and I like to beg her for more page time when I’m not chasing my papa and asking him questions about magic. He’s actually the main character but if he wrote this email, it would just say hi, and that’s it because he’s not talkative, and I am! So you get me instead.)

Oh I'm sorry. You're still stuck on the bingo card reference. Well, no, we don't usually have bingo cards, but there's a lot of drama behind the scenes right now that I promise I'll share soon.

So we needed a scorecard to keep track of which character caused which issue and that led, as things do, to someone, I won't name names, making a bingo card. The characters in question might not know about this so please don't tell them!

Okay since we've got that on the way to getting sorted, it’s time for my favorite kind of news, book news!

Our next book just crossed the 90,000 word mark, which means it’s probably 90% written. That puts it 90% closer to your ereader or bookshelf. :) So make sure to save us a spot in your Fall TBR!

You could get your hands on it after the Kickstarter if things continue on schedule. If you’re one of our Patrons on Patreon, you will get your copy sooner than that. We’ll post details about that as soon as the book’s done, and we know when it’ll be edited and have a cover. So stay tuned!

Which book will be next?

Well, that’s what all the drama I mentioned above is about. Don’t worry! You’ll get all those details soon. I just need the Scribe to calm down about it first. There was some serious drama over this book. But the story is so wild, the few people who know what it’s about are begging to read it.

So I think it’ll all end well for me anyway. I can’t speak for any other characters. But I got some epic scenes!

More on that soon. I promise. For now, let's talk about the Kickstarter.

If you haven't yet done so, please go to our pre-launch page and click the Notify me on launch button, so you know when our campaign goes live:

Notify me on launch

As of right now, I think our campaign will launch on Oct 2nd and run for 17 days so it ends on Oct. 19.

We wanted a September date but the herd of magical elephants is still here. In fact, they're glaring at me right now. But I'm a fictional character, not a designer so I don't know what they expect me to do. I can't magic up a cover for them.

I said in a previous email that we learned a lot of things after backing 26 projects, and our biggest takeaway from that experience is the reason we pushed the launch to October.

We need everything finalized before the launch, so the only risks for our campaign are things we can’t control like:

shipping delays
printing delays
Our project not funding :(

Technically, our Scribe can’t control us, characters, either, but since the books will be done before the campaign goes live, we’re not a factor. And that’s weird because we’re always a factor.

But not this time. Melinda might have outsmarted us.

So those are the only risks since all covers will be done. All books will be formatted, and their files will all be uploaded and ready to print or send if you choose the ebook option.

When will you get your book?

When the campaign ends, Kickstarter takes 2 weeks to process pledges and release the funds so we can send the funds to the printer.

I tried sending them lumir crystals, but the nice folks at the printer said they can’t accept that since lumir crystals aren’t something called “legal tender” in the UK.

But why isn’t it? I can trade them at the local market at home for stuff. Papa does that all the time. Lumir crystals have a pretty glow, and unlike torches/flashlights, they don’t need batteries. They will light your world for centuries to come.

But I digress as I often do. After the campaign ends, Kickstarter will send out a survey, and you need to fill it out ASAP so we know where to send the books.

And I think I rambled for long enough. Now it’s time to show you what’s inside the campaign!

We’ll start with the first omnibus because that’s always a good place to start. On top, we have the cover for the dust jacket for Curse Breaker Books 1-3. And below it, we have the new ebook cover for Curse Breaker Books 1-3 and a mockup of the case laminate cover and back cover since the final proofs are still flying over the ocean to reach us.

Both the dust jacket and the case laminate cover will be glossy. Curse Breaker Books 1-3 is 734 pages of me trying to be the best sidekick ever to my magical papa. He doesn’t think he needs a sidekick, but I prove him wrong. Maybe not in this omnibus but he wouldn’t have survived the sequels without me, and that’s a fact.

All the names of backers will appear on a special thank you page inside. I’d show you the design, but the Queen of All Trees didn’t approve the design yet. I’m supposed to track her down and get her to do that after I tell the Scribe about the cover poll.

You’d think finding a super tall glowing silver tree would be easy, but no. I can’t find so much as a glowing leaf to point me in the right direction. I might need to ask Papa to find her.

All pledges that include a copy of Curse Breaker Books 1-3 in any format count toward our goal of giving away 3650 copies of Curse Breaker Enchanted since its included in the first omnibus.

As of today, we’re 9.8% of the way to our goal of giving away 3650 copies, one for every day since we lost our first fan. And we have 5 months to go. Please help us spread the word about it. And thank you for helping us get this far.

Don’t forget to go to our campaign and click the Notify me on launch button, so you know when our crazy campaign of magical mayhem goes live.

Notify me on launch

New Podcast Episodes & Videos

Listen on our podcast. Watch on YouTube:

Fantasy, Lore, and More: Rada
Fantasy, Lore, and More: The Phoenix and the Sword
Fantasy, Lore, and More: Heretic*
- *Contains a character description and references that may be upsetting for people of Asian descent. We spoke to the author after the show about it, and he will change it in the ebook. But the show has the original version. Listener discretion advised.

New Releases, Sales, & Other Book Stuff

Help us give away 3650 copies of Curse Breaker Enchanted

Help us give away 3650 copies of Curse Breaker Enchanted by Feb. 22, 2024, one copy for every day since we lost our first fan 10 years ago.

We’ve given away 325 copies, thank you! We’re 9.8% of the way to our goal, so please keep sharing our books on social media and if you’ve read it, please consider leaving a review on your favorite book store site.

Melinda’s Substack

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